Residents living on Hale Road, in Speke, by Liverpool John Lennon Airport have hit out at travellers who are using the street for drop offs while some cars “have been left there for days”
Car have been been smashed up by a UK airport with locals fed up of travellers leaving cars parked outside their homes for days.
Vehicles on Hale Road in Speke by Liverpool John Lennon Airport have been damaged. On Monday a white Hyundai was parked with all its windows cracked, while three windows of a blue Volvo had also been fully smashed and damage also sustained to the back window. The car had also been egged and one of its tyres had been punctured.
People living on the street said the cars had been parked there for several days and added they had spotted the damage on Saturday (September 27). They believe the cars belong to holidaymakers.
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They said many holidaymakers, taxi drivers and regular drivers use the street to avoid paying for parking at the airport, either by using it as a drop-off and pick-up point or leaving their cars on the road for the entirety of their trip away.
The express drop-off point at JLA is located directly opposite the terminal. It costs £6 to stay there for up to 10 minutes and £10 for 20 minutes. Passengers with a valid Blue Badge can claim up to 40 minutes of free parking, while motorcycles can park free of charge in designated outdoor spaces.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said damage to vehicles and airport users abusing the road is a common occurrence. He told the Liverpool Echo : “It happens all the time. You get people dropping off and picking up all hours of the day and night. Doors slamming, beeping, things like that.
“We’ve had people park in front of our driveway in the past so you can’t get out. Now we tend to park the car on the road instead. Sometimes they say, ‘we’ll only be 20 minutes’ but that’s still a problem. My wife’s just gone to pick up my son from school because he’s not well. We would have been stuck if a car had been parked there.
“People have been talking [about the smashed windows] on the local Facebook group. Some have said, ‘you’ve got to respect other people’s property’. But where’s the respect for my property when they park in front of it?
“I understand people want to save money, but you’re spending £300 on a holiday and want to save £6 on parking? Plus, if you park in one of the official car parks it’s a secure site.”
There is also a bus route off Hale Road which takes passengers directly into the airport, which the man said many people aren’t aware of. The man said the parking was one of several issues he and others face in the street from airport users.
He said: “I’ve had people putting their rubbish in my bin. I opened it up once and there was a load of used nappies in there. One of the neighbours had to deal with a woman pooing in her front garden. Cars sometimes park up on the pavement on the other side of the road, so people have to walk into the road. They could get hit by a bus.”
The man says he has raised these issues repeatedly with Liverpool City Council and the airport over the years to no avail. He believes installing fencing outside the houses could be a solution but is very pessimistic about anything being done to address these issues.
Another resident also voiced his frustrations, adding: “Whether they’ve been targeted because they’ve parked for the airport or not, I don’t know. The blue car has been there for weeks and I saw the damage on Saturday. I don’t agree with people using the road for parking but I don’t agree with that either. It’s not just this road either – there’s damage to cars in other parts too.”
An airport spokesperson said: “We are looking at ways to try to deter passengers from being dropped off and picked up on roads close to the airport, which is also causing disruption and is a nuisance for local residents at all hours of the day and night.”
The Mirror has contacted Merseyside Police for comment.